[EBB Sightings] Skip's All Wet

Birders,

Skip and I took our bird-and-dog-walk at Bishop Ranch Regional Preserve 
(BRRP) this afternoon. We started up the trail under menacing skies. A 
third of the way up to the ridge we had WESTERN TANAGER, ASH-THROATED 
FLYCATCHER, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, and NUTTALL'S WOODPECKER, all in the 
same tree. Between the first lightning flash and the subsequent thunder 
clap, Skip and I flushed a pair of LARK SPARROWS from the trail. 
Two-thirds of the way up to the ridge and just as the first raindrops 
fell we heard, then saw, 4 male WILD TURKEYS. When we reached ridge 
line, with much lightning, thunder, rain, and wind, there was little 
chance of finding the Grasshopper Sparrows we had come for. The rain 
fell in really big drops. Skip kept looking up at me like he does when 
he's having a lot of fun. I was beginning to wonder if shorts and a 
polo shirt were really adequate under the circumstances. We were 
already soaked as we headed back down the hill. The Wild Turkeys had 
taken shelter under trees with the cows, but Skip and I were still on 
the trail. By the time we reached the trailhead Skip's paws and my 
boots had collected quite a lot of mud . Good thing we drove Pat's car.

Dennis Braddy and Skip
San Ramon